Dtravel processes first travel booking on the blockchain
Worldwide: Dtravel, a decentralised short-term rental travel ecosystem, claims to have processed the world’s first hospitality booking on the blockchain using smart contract technology.
Smart contracts are publicly verifiable programs on the blockchain, which automatically execute actions based on pre-defined logic. Dtravel has implemented the technology to enable property managers and hosts to transact directly with guests without an intermediary via smart contracts, resulting in lower transaction costs, greater payment finality and non-custodial payments.
To create a property listing on Dtravel, property managers and hosts set the booking conditions – such as the price per night, cleaning fee and cancellation policy – within a smart contract unique to each listing.
When a guest makes a booking, the details of that booking are cryptographically signed and included in the on-chain booking transaction, along with the booking payment. The transaction is then sent to the listing’s smart contract to be held in decentralised escrow and is handled by the predefined rules of the smart contract.
Once the cancellation period ends, the smart contract will automatically release the funds to the host, provided the guest does not cancel within this period.
The historic smart contract-powered direct booking milestone was made in London, England, at a property hosted by Amir, one of the first hosts in the UK to list his properties using Dtravel.
Amir, the owner of the property, said: “I’m extremely passionate about providing the best possible experience for my guests and love trying out new technologies. Having the ability to pass on savings to guests through direct stays while gaining greater control over my business without spending time and resources on setting up my own direct booking website immediately resonated with me.”
Dtravel recently launched its beta pilot program, which equips hosts with a direct booking site powered by web3 technology. Using a property management system [PMS], hosts can easily connect to Dtravel, deploy their listings and begin accepting smart contract-enabled direct bookings in minutes.
In the coming months, Dtravel says that it will be focusing on reducing onboarding friction while working closely with hosts to optimise the direct booking product by adding new customisation features and tools. In addition to building a direct booking tool that reduces a host’s reliance on third-party online travel agencies, Dtravel will soon create a guest-facing meta search product, enabling guests to easily discover and book direct stays with hosts from around the world.
Dtravel is a web3 direct booking tool that is designed to facilitate vacation rentals without intermediaries. Blending the freedom of direct booking sites with the simplicity of online travel agencies [OTAs], Dtravel seeks to offer greater ownership, lower fees and more control.
Conceived by former executives of Airbnb, Expedia and other global technology companies, Dtravel aims to empower host businesses while making travel accessible, equitable and transparent. Dtravel’s home-sharing booking platform went live last November.
Cynthia Huang, head of growth at Dtravel, appeared on ShortTermRentalz’ RockSTRz session on ‘Digital trust and safety: Combatting the evolving complexities of travel payment fraud’ last September – view the recording in full here.
